Amref Health Africa and Nutrition International, through its Nutrition Leverage for Transformation (NLIFT) model, have today formalized a partnership intended to provide nutrition benefits to communities across nine countries in Africa where Amref Health Africa currently works. Read more

April 7, 2018 is World Health Day. Amref Health Africa has been involved in training of midlevel and community health workers through in-service, pre-service and continuing professional development since its founding in 1957. Read more

Amref Health Africa's statement on universal health coverage. Africa’s health systems must meet the needs of the most vulnerable; they must place people at the centre and ensure wider use of indigenous knowledge, and promote enlightened leadership if we are to achieve universal health coverage and other sustainable development goals related to health. Read more

Amref Health Africa, the largest African led international organization on the continent, today welcomed the election of Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus as the next Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO). Read more

The Economist brings much needed attention to a dangerous practice being carried out on young girls today – female genital mutilation (FGM) – despite it being illegal in most countries. In many African countries, the practice is interpreted as a ‘coming-of-age’ ceremony that marks the transition to womanhood. Globally, on average, young girls who undergo FGM are just 10-years-old. It’s disappointing that one glaring fact was neglected in the editorial in The Economist – that FGM is recognized internationally as a violation of the declaration of human rights. Read more

Amref Health Africa is targeting to train at least 8,000 midwives in the next three years in a move aimed at improving maternal health for at least four million women across the Africa every year. Read more

Every three minutes, a mother in Africa dies from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth – deaths which can be prevented with access to basic healthcare. This Mother’s Day, many of us will post photos of our moms on social media. Embracing this positive trend, Amref Health Africa is asking people to use the hashtag #SaveMothersDay to post a photo with their mom to stand in solidarity with mothers across Africa. Read more

On Tuesday, March 22, Amref Health Africa joins the global community in celebrating World Water Day, notably the first following adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals in November 2015. The launch of the new global goals has renewed hope for millions of African women and children who spend up to 40 billion hours annually walking to collect water. Read more

Amref Health Africa respects community cultural practices and encourages communities to continue with their rites of passage for girls but abandon the harmful cut administered to the external genitalia of girls, known as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) or Female Genital Cutting (FGC). We do not support any form of alteration of the female external genitalia for non-medical reasons. Read more

As the drought and food shortage in parts of Ethiopia continues to worsen, Amref Health Africa is working with communities, all levels of government and partner organizations to identify and address expected public health emergencies.
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On November 19, 2015, Amref Health Africa joins the rest of the world in marking the UN World Toilet Day. Sub-Saharan Africa has a mere 30 per cent coverage of safe sanitation facilities, a startling statistic that is only a four per cent increase since 1990. This is a serious concern due to the associated massive health burden. Read more

The announcement that GSK’s malaria vaccine candidate has passed a major step by receiving a positive opinion from the European Medicines Agency is indeed worthy of celebration, especially so for the thousands of children who are living with the risk of malaria across sub-Saharan Africa and the world. Read more

Amref Health Africa in Canada will lead a $29.3 million five-year project to improve the health of mothers and their children in Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi and Tanzania, $24.9 million of which is provided by the Government of Canada through the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD). Read more

Amref Health Africa, the largest health development agency in Africa, has announced the appointment of a new Chief Executive Officer, Dr Githinji Gitahi, at the global headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya. Read more

Amref Health Africa joins the international community in commemorating the International Day of the African Child, marked every year on June 16. While on this day we remember the black children massacred in Soweto, South Africa in 1976 for demanding their right to quality education under the apartheid regime, it is also the day that the African Union has set aside to promote children’s rights in Africa. Read more

The theme of this year’s International Day to End Obstetric Fistula, “End fistula, restore women’s dignity”, resonates completely with women who recover from this debilitating condition. Not only are they physically sound again, but they are able to rediscover their dignity, regain their place in community and start life anew.
For many years Amref Health Africa has implemented fistula repair programmes across East Africa, Malawi and other areas to promote safe motherhood and contribute to ending obstetric fistula. Read more

To reduce maternal and child deaths through HIV/AIDS, Amref Health Africa calls for increased joint action between governments, civil society and the private sector in order to leverage available resources for efficiency and effectiveness of interventions, and strengthening of health systems to comprehensively address women’s health. Read more

In November 2014, Amref Health Africa hosted its first International Health Conference, in collaboration with the World Health Organization. More than 450 delegates attended, and released a communique at the end of the conference. Read more

On the occasion of the International Day of the Midwife 2015, Amref Health Africa calls for Governments in Africa and foreign aid departments of developed countries to increase investment in scaling up education and training of midwives to increase access to quality health services and reduce needless deaths of mothers and their newborn children. Read more

World Malaria Day was established to provide education and understanding of malaria and to share information on the implementation of malaria-control strategies. It provides an opportunity for all malaria stakeholders to showcase their successes and highlight the challenges experienced in the fight against malaria. Read more

Responding immediately to the attack at Garissa University College on April 2, 2015 AMREF Flying Doctors - Amref Health Africa's medical evacuation service - provided four air ambulances and a medical team to assist the critically injured. 148 people died in the attack on April 2, 2015. Read more

Tuberculosis remains one of the world’s deadliest communicable diseases. In 2013, an estimated 9 million people developed tuberculosis (TB) and 1.5 million died from the disease, 360,000 of whom were HIV-positive. Read more

On the occasion of this year’s World Water Day, Amref Health Africa wishes to remind African Governments and the international community that limited access to clean water causes challenges for primary health care. Therefore drinking water supply and the provision of sanitation facilities must be included in disease prevention and primary health care programmes. Read more

This flu season, Rexall is partnering with Amref Health Africa to launch ‘Shot For Shot’, a campaign committed to providing life-saving vaccinations to children that need it most. For every flu shot administered by a Rexall pharmacist, Rexall will make a donation towards delivering vaccines to northern Uganda where vaccination rates are well below World Health Organization targets. Read more

Amref Health Africa and more than 50 other major humanitarian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in South Sudan have expressed their deep concern about the current humanitarian situation in the country and reaffirmed their commitment to help all civilian populations in need of assistance. Read more

Nelson Mandela was a great leader of Africa, a true icon who has made the impossible possible. AMREF expresses great sorrow and offers its sincerest sympathy at the sad news of the death of Madiba. Read more

The African Medical & Research Foundation (AMREF) was presented last night with the Partner Award from the Global Health Workforce Alliance (GHWA) in recognition of their exceptional contribution towards human resources for health. AMREF has trained more than 600,000 health workers since its inception in 1957 as the Flying Doctors of East Africa. Read more

Ten young Canadians will have the opportunity to work with the African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF) through a special internship program funded by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). Read more

TORONTO – The African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF) and The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) are joining together to combat the high mortality rate of children in rural Tanzania. Read more

Rush-hour blitz of key TTC subway stations draws attention to the unacceptable death rate of African mothers. Torontonians are being asked to Stand Up for African Mothers on Friday, December 7 to help combat the unacceptably high rate of deaths among moms in Africa. Read more

The African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF) today received the World Federation of Public Health Associations 2012 Organisational Award. The award is bestowed in recognition of an organisation’s outstanding achievements in and contributions to the field of public health and is presented every three years. Read more

Chase Bank Foundation has launched a partnership with the African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF) aimed at saving the lives of thousands of women and children. This is the first of many initiatives to be undertaken by the Chase Bank Foundation, which was registered last October under the Trustees Act in line with one of Chase Bank’s core values of social responsibility to improve the lives of those around us. Read more

Toronto, July 25, 2011 - AMREF Canada applauds the Canadian government’s international leadership in providing $50 million to relief efforts while also matching all eligible donations made towards AMREF’s efforts supporting people suffering from the severe drought across the Horn of Africa. Read more

The recent commencement of AIDS vaccine trials on 40 babies in Kenya raises hope for discovery of a way to stop the spread of one of the most serious diseases ever to affect humanity. As an organisation working with communities to improve health in Africa, AMREF has first-hand knowledge and experience of the effects of HIV and AIDS on those who are infected and affected, particularly in the remotest and poorest parts of the continent. Read more

Director General Dr. Teguest Guerma, MD and infectious disease expert of East African based, African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF), will be in Ottawa available to speak with media on World Health Day (April 7, 2011). She will also be in Montreal on Monday, April 11 and Toronto on Tuesday and Wednesday, April 12 and 13. Read more

On February 16 2011, a series of explosions at a military munitions dump in Gongo la Mboto Tanzania killed at least 25 people, flattening buildings and terrifying thousands of people in the local community. AMREF is now training counselors to provide psycho-social support for the victims and their families. Read more

Sex between men is stigmatized, officially denied and criminalized in many parts of the world, and particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. Of the groups that are at high risk of HIV infection, Men who have Sex with Men (MSM) are particularly vulnerable, but they are unable to access treatment and care services due to social, religious and political stigma. Read more

Jennifer Foulds
Director of Communications and Public Relations

Want to interview an Amref Health Africa expert? Get in touch with our Director of Communications and PR, Jennifer Foulds.